Even Angels Fall
by Snow Shears
Summary: The third and final installment to Tseng's story. Tseng finally finds out where he belongs. -TsengxAerith-


Pain. It coursed through Tseng's body like venom slipping into the bloodstream. Sephiroth had used his body as a carving stone for his blade; each new slice and gash was made so precisely and swift that barely a stain was left upon the blade at its removal from his flesh. However, the Wutai man had felt very single blow. The sting of metal sliding through flesh and bone had caused him to cry out, the sound shriller than the yell of agonzing sorrow left behind by Cloud upon Zack's death. Tseng had lost his temper on occasion, but it was rare that he let his voice rise to such decibels. It was rare he gave anyone the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

"You are a fool," he had heard Sephiroth muttere from above him. The ex-general's left boot was pressing down onto a particularly deep and painful wound by his right side. Tseng was staring death in the face, and it was currently weilding a six-foot long blade known as Masamune. "Or, should I say, you _were_ a fool." Those were the last words that Tseng remembered hearing before he forced his eyes to close. He was a proud man; he had hoped that he could picture something more beautiful in his time of dying, rather than the twisted features of the silverette hovering above him, ready to deliever the final kill shot.

The shot that never came. There was no added pain, no rush of blood from a newly created wound, no peaceful sleep accompanied by an unbeating heart. The Turk slowly opened his eyes again so that he could peer round and find where he was at. He was still laying on the blood stained streets, though this time, he was surrounded by the faces of the three that he knew actually cared for him. Straining his eyesight, he could even see Rufus sitting there, bandaged, but lacking the blanket that shielded his form from the world.

"Wh-what.." The words wouldn't seem to form on his dry and cracked lips. His voice sounded distant, even to his own ears, as he tried to croak out the question. "Wh-why..h-here.."

Elena, with tears of sorrow soaking her cheeks and the collar of her uniform, was the first one by his side. She cradled his head in her lap, neglecting to care for even a millisecond about getting blood on her clothes. She smoothed his matted hair back slowly, gently hushing him. Her tears were falling down into the open wounds on his face, creating a small sting that Tseng barely noticed.

Rude, who was kneeling on Tseng's left while Reno took a stance on his knees by his right, had taken his shades off and was using his thumb and forefinger to pinch the bridge of his nose. He looked as if he had been trying to avoid the inevitable since they had discovered the body of their fallen friend. Reno was the most composed of the three, but it was clear by the look in his emerald eyes and sad tone that he was wavering on the brink of breaking down himself.

"You're an idiot, yo.." He started out, looking over the damage of his body. There was no way that the three of them could get Tseng back to town for treatment without his wounds tearing anymore than they already were, and there wasn't enough time to wait for even a chopper to arrive with medical assitance. The redheaded Turk turned his head to the side, the hot tears finally sliding down his cheeks in silence.

Tseng was having trouble focusing on his friends. He reached a hand over to Rude and patted his leg once, then repeated the same action with Reno. Finally reaching his hand upward, he took Elena's palm into his. "I-I'm.. I'm...n-not sorry.." He muttered, making Elena's eyes widen. His next words caused the tears to fall at a faster rate. "R-Reno...Rude...t-take..take care of Elena..when I'm gone.."

There was no denying that he was dying. The four of them knew this, but three of the four didn't want to admit it. One of them didn't want to accept it. She held as tight as she could onto Tseng's hand, until she felt his grip loosening. Until his hand lay limp in her own. Until his eyes remained open, but unseeing, forever more.

_"Come on, Tseng! It's time to come home."_

_The flowergirl's voice drifted into his ears, making the ravenhaired Turk turn his head. He looked down at his body, and discovered that he was still dressed in his normal uniform, but there were no blood stains or wounds to be seen. At first he had thought he was dreaming again, just dreaming of a memory, but that was impossible- there had been no scars on his hands when he was dreaming of Aerith. No, he wasn't dreaming._

_A light laugh echoed from ahead of him. He lifted his dark gaze and saw that Aerith was standing there, with a smiling Zack leaning against what looked to be a door frame, holding her hand out for him to take. She looked as beautiful and as radient as she had ever looked before._

_"Come on, lets go home. Where we belong."_

_"Home." The word, it tasted foreign on his tongue. But as he watched Aerith nod, and as he slid his hand into hers, to feel the warmth of her skin and the love she held for him flowing around him, he knew he was where he needed to be. Where he was meant to be. Tseng was finally home._

_"I'm sorry, Aerith.. for breaking my promise." He felt like he needed to apologize to her, at least once more._

_"Dilly-dally, Shilly-shally, Tseng. Even angels fall sometimes." The flowergirl smiled up at the Turk as together, hand in hand, they followed Zack into the light that would lead them home._

_**"You've found hope**_

_**You've found faith,**_

_**Found how fast she could take it away.**_

_**Found true love,**_

_**Lost your heart.**_

_**Now you don't know who you are.**_

_**She made it easy,**_

_**Made it free,**_

_**Made you hurt til you couldn't see.**_

_**Sometimes it stops,**_

_**Sometimes it flows,**_

_**But baby that is how love goes.**_

_**You will fly and you will crawl;**_

_**God knows even angels fall.**_

_**No such thing as you lost it all.**_

_**God knows even angels fall."**_


End file.
